HomeShop18 gets slapped with a fine of Rs. 20,000 for faulty services

The online and on-air retail shopping platform has been held guilty of unfair trade practices by Dehradun district consumer complaint redressal forum for sending a faulty device to a consumerGaurav Talwar | TNN | November 17, 2016, 17:00 IST

Image source: ThinkstockAn online and on-air retail shopping platform has been held guilty of unfair trade practices by Dehradun district consumer complaint redressal forum for sending a faulty device to a consumer. Besides asking the company to refund the amount of the device, the court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the firm for causing mental agony to the consumer and an additional amount of Rs 10,000 against litigation expenses.

A Dehradun-based resident, Bhagat Singh Joshi purchased a tablet worth Rs 6,990 from HomeShop18 and received the device on April 26, 2013. However, the tablet developed technical glitches after four days.

Joshi said that the volume control, wi-fi and SD card of the tablet stopped functioning, following which he registered a complaint with the company. Thereafter, the firm sent a new tablet which was also damaged. The litigant said that it had defect in its touch screen.

The consumer was suggested by the company to take the tablet to service centre in Dehradun. The service centre tried to repair it but failed. They then sent the device to company in October 2013, but Joshi did not get a new tablet in it place of it, forcing him to file a complaint in consumer forum on October 10, 2013.

In its defence, HomeShop18 filed an affidavit in the consumer forum saying that they are just a dealer and the fault lies with the manufacturing company.

However, the forum presided by its chairman Balbir Prasad and member Alka Negi stated that the company provided deficient services to the consumer and asked the company to pay the fine within 30 days.